TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taoyuan’s Kuei-Shan Elementary School baseball team will depart for Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Thursday (Aug. 8) to compete in the 77th Little League World Series.
Two days before the team’s departure, Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng (張善政) attended a special prayer event to seek good fortune and cheer on the team. Chang hoped the team could not only win glory for Taiwan but also their hometown of Taoyuan, per CNA.
Kuei-Shan Elementary School baseball team won the Little League (LLB) Asia-Pacific Region tournament held in South Korea this June. Thus, it qualified for another visit to Williamsport for the competition that is scheduled for Aug. 14–25.
Chang noted that the Kuei-Shan Elementary School baseball team was established in 2002 and has represented Taiwan many times in international competitions under the leadership of manager Li Zheng-da (李政達).
Ting Bo-chiang (丁伯強), the principal of Kuei-Shan Elementary, said it was the fourth time the school would send a baseball team to Williamsport to battle for the Little League World Series. Ting added that the school’s team was a runner-up in 2009 and took third place in 2023.
Furthermore, in 2023, it earned the Jack Losch Team Sportsmanship Award for being polite and disciplined. This was the first time a Taiwanese team had won the sportsmanship award since its inception 19 years ago.
Taoyuan’s Kuei Shan District Office said that all meals, accommodations, and round-trip air tickets during this competition will be fully funded by the event organizers, Little League Baseball. Taoyuan City Government provides some funding for the purchase of updated training equipment and additional nutritional expenses to allow the young players to be in peak physical shape to compete.
